Are you ready for Thanksgiving?
If you said, “What? Huh? NOW?,” you probably don’t live in Canada.
But if recipes for turkey, stuffing, and pie are scattered across your kitchen table, then you’re likely a Canadian!
Canadians are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.
No one seems to know for sure why the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday takes place six weeks before the U.S. turkey day. It’s likely because October is harvest time in much of Canada. By late November, when Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, wide swaths of Canadian countryside are already covered in snow.
When I moved to Canada, I was surprised to find that the biggest difference between Canadian and American Thanksgivings is the relative importance of the holiday in the two countries. Thanksgiving is a much bigger deal south of the border. People certainly do have family dinners for Thanksgiving here in Canada, but there isn’t the mass travel frenzy you find in the U.S.
While Monday is officially “Thanksgiving Day,” there’s no specific day when everyone has their holiday meal in Canada as there is in the United States. Canadians generally have their holiday dinner on Sunday or Monday, but they might gather at the table anytime during the weekend.
And Canada has no “Black Friday” shopping day associated with Thanksgiving either!
But what about the food?
I’ve found that the meals themselves are fairly similar. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a plentiful array of pies grace holiday tables on both sides of the border.
As in the U.S., there are some regional variations, although in British Columbia where I live, Thanksgiving dinners seem quite similar to what I knew in the States.
Canadians: Can you tell us more about your Thanksgiving traditions? Are there particular dishes that you or your families always prepare for the holiday?
Please leave a comment and let us know.
And have a happy Thanksgiving!
[mrlinky owner=wanderfood postid=05Oct2011 meme=2888]
Photo credits:
Turkey by roland (flickr)
Cranberries by doortoriver (flickr)
Pumpkin Pie by princesspumpernickel (flickr)